algae

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If You're Headed to the Beach in California, a Warning

Potentially aggressive sea lions are turning up after being sickened by toxic algae bloom

(Newser) - As Americans flock to the shores for the Fourth, a warning has been issued for Southern Californians: Watch out for potentially aggressive sea lions. Dr. Alissa Deming of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center tells NPR that the sea lions, as well as common dolphins, are washing ashore "unaware, dazed,...

More Causes Ruled Out in Family's Confounding Deaths
Lightning Didn't Kill Family
Who Mysteriously Died on Hike
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 3, 2021 11:20 AM CDT

Lightning Didn't Kill Family Who Mysteriously Died on Hike

No clear answer for the loss of Ellen Chung, Jonathan Gerrish, daughter, and dog

(Newser) - A family that died on a hike in California's Sierra National Forest in August did not die by lightning strike , by any weapon, illegal drugs or alcohol, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, cyanide exposure, or by suicide, investigators publicly concluded Thursday. But what did kill Ellen Chung, 31; Jonathan Gerrish,...

California Scrambles to Wipe Out Algae Invader

Species that can overtake habitat has been spotted in state waters for the first time

(Newser) - For the first time, scientists say they have seen a species of bright green algae growing in the waters off California—and they are hoping it's the last. The invasive algae can overtake the environment and displace critical food sources for ocean animals on the southern California coast. A...

New Seaweed Species Is Smothering Reefs

'Tumbleweed' algae is covering remote Hawaii reefs

(Newser) - Researchers say a recently discovered species of seaweed is killing large patches of coral on once-pristine reefs and is rapidly spreading across one of the most remote and protected ocean environments on earth. A study from the University of Hawaii and others says the seaweed is spreading more rapidly than...

The Maya Had Good Reason to Abandon Tikal
The Maya Had Good
Reason to Abandon Tikal
new study
Jul 5, 2020 5:20 PM CDT

The Maya Had Good Reason to Abandon Tikal

Researchers dig deep into the city's reservoirs

(Newser) - Why did the Maya flee the majestic city-state of Tikal? Experts say overpopulation, overexploitation of land, and droughts drove them out in the ninth century AD. Now, another cause: poisoned water. A new study says there's evidence of mercury and toxic algae ruining the drinking water just as residents...

Antarctica's Green Snow Mapped From Space
Antarctica Is
Seeing Green Snow
May 20, 2020 6:55 PM CDT

Antarctica Is Seeing Green Snow

Algae is thriving as the continent heats up

(Newser) - Antarctica is getting slushier and the snow is getting greener, according to scientists using satellite data to map blooms of algae. The BBC reports that a study of the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands found about 1,700 large algae blooms covering a total of nearly 1 square mile—though...

Scary Warning for Swimming Dogs
Scary Warning
for Swimming Dogs
Aug 13, 2019 8:28 AM CDT

Scary Warning for Swimming Dogs

Algae in ponds and lakes can be deadly

(Newser) - For dog owners who let their pooches jump into lakes and ponds, a spate of deaths around the US has led to a warning: Beware the algae. It may look harmless, but a toxic blue-green algae is being blamed for fatally poisoning dogs, reports NBC News . The issue got national...

It Kills in the Water, Is Like 'Tear Gas' on Land

Florida's algae bloom prompts state of emergency

(Newser) - Under increasing pressure to handle Florida's brutal red tide , a toxic algae bloom killing hordes of marine animals and causing respiratory issues for some people, Gov. Rick Scott made the call. Late Monday, he declared a state of emergency in seven counties along the state's southwestern coast, setting...

Catastrophic Algae Bloom Devastates Gulf Coast

Dead fish are washing up by the ton

(Newser) - Tons of dead fish. A smell so awful you gag with one inhale. Empty beaches, empty roads, empty restaurants. A toxic algae bloom has overrun Florida's southern Gulf Coast this summer, devastating sea life and driving people from the water. Red tide—toxic algae bloom that can be harmful...

Green Scum Coated the Lake—and Could Have Killed Him

The AP investigates why our efforts to combat toxic algae are failing

(Newser) - Competing in a bass fishing tournament two years ago, Todd Steele cast his rod from his 21-foot motorboat—unaware that he was being poisoned. A thick, green scum coated western Lake Erie. And Steele, a semipro angler, was sickened by it. Driving home to Port Huron, Michigan, he felt lightheaded,...

Experts 'Despondent' Over Great Barrier Reef

Only a third remains undamaged after back-to-back bleaching episodes

(Newser) - This time there's no El Niño to blame for the Great Barrier Reef "cooking and dying," as CNN puts it. Thanks to two years of back-to-back "bleaching" (algae loss) that researcher James Kerry tells the BBC is "unprecedented," two-thirds of the world's...

A Drink Is Making People Sick, and Algae Might Be Why

The latest dispatch from the Soylent saga

(Newser) - Over the past several months, a tiny fraction of consumers of a meal replacement powder and energy bar put out by the company Soylent have complained of pretty adverse digestive reactions , including vomiting and uncontrollable diarrhea. Since 2013 the Silicon Valley startup has been producing its nutrient-dense, just-add-water powder—"...

In Algae, a Key to White Cliffs of Dover

They could in theory be replicated in the Antarctic—in millions of years

(Newser) - Had William Shakespeare had a chance to peruse a new study, he might have praised nitrate for the dizzying view from atop the White Cliffs of Dover. That’s because the tiny algae, known as coccolithophores, which helped form the famous cliffs some 100 million years ago benefited from a...

Rio Promises Blue Water, but Odd Green May Be Spreading

First the diving pool, now the water polo pool

(Newser) - If you happened to tune into a diving event Tuesday, you probably noticed the pool at Rio's outdoor aquatics center was "as green as split-pea soup," as the National Post puts it—or "close to the color swatch movie set designers turn to when they want...

'Guacamole-Thick' Algae Causes Florida Emergency

'The smell is so bad it will make you gag,' one local resident says

(Newser) - Beaches are closed in South Florida, where a massive algae bloom has caused water to turn bright green and Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency in four counties—Martin, St. Lucie, Lee, and Palm Beach—over Wednesday and Thursday, reports Weather.com . Health officials are telling people...

Huge Toxic Algae Bloom Bigger Than Feared in May

It's 40 miles wide and 650 feet deep

(Newser) - A massive toxic algae bloom first detected in May is denser, deeper, and more widespread than scientists feared as recently as a few weeks ago, report surveyors aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel. As many as 40 miles wide and 650 feet deep, it stretches at least...

Beautiful but Toxic 'Sea Sparkle' on the Rise

'Magnificent' sight caused by farm pollution

(Newser) - Eerie fluorescent blue patches of water seen glimmering off Hong Kong's seashore are magnificent, disturbing, and potentially toxic, marine biologists say. The glow is an indicator of a harmful algal bloom created by something called Noctiluca scintillans, nicknamed "Sea Sparkle." It looks like algae and can act...

Hidden Virus Makes Us Dumber

 Hidden Virus 
 Makes Us Dumber 
in case you missed it
Nov 15, 2014 7:30 AM CST

Hidden Virus Makes Us Dumber

Study: People with chlorovirus ATCV-1 score lower on cognitive tests

(Newser) - US researchers have come across a virus that may make us dumber—and it's turning up in the throats of otherwise-healthy people, the Independent reports. Some 43% of 92 people in a study were found to have the virus. Those affected scored about 10% lower on tests involving visual...

Gulf's Dead Zone Is the Size of Connecticut

Activists sue EPA to get stricter regulations

(Newser) - A Connecticut-sized swath of oxygen-deprived waters off the Gulf Coast is a "poster child for how we are using and abusing our natural resources," says one researcher in Louisiana. In its 30th annual survey, the Louisiana Marine Consortium shows the dead zone has shrunk to about 5,000...

Toxic Water Actually 'So Routine' in Ohio

Pollution, invasive species, and climate change have all been blamed

(Newser) - Tap water has been declared safe to drink and bathe in again in Toledo, Ohio, but scientists warn that toxic algae blooms could be here to stay. Fertilizer from farms and cattle feedlots are partly to blame for the thick layer of algae choking Lake Erie, the most developed of...

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